TV Verdict: Robbie Brady calms RTÉ panel's concerns

The RTÉ panel are apprehensive. The RTÉ panel have every right to be apprehensive.

The home defence includes two Bundesliga centre-backs; the Ireland defence includes Ciaran Clark of the ongoing train wreck that is Aston Villa and Stephen Ward of Burnley, with one outing to his name this season.

The home attack includes Edin Dzeko, currently plying his trade in the Eternal City and the scorer of 44 goals in 76 internationals; the Ireland attack numbers Daryl Murphy, currently plying his trade amid the fleshpots of East Anglia.

Granted, one player on each side has worn the light blue of Manchester City: For the home team the aforementioned Dzeko when City were good, for Ireland none other than Glenn Whelan when City were bad.

(Well, obviously. Not to malign a chap who’s clearly a good and conscientious pro, but Whelan was unlikely to be playing for City when they were good, was he?)

Richie Sadlier foresees “a very difficult night”.

Liam Brady hopes that Ireland try to vary their game and not hoof everything long to Murphy.

Eamon Dunphy will take a 2-1 defeat here and now and “run away with it”.

Off we go. BosHerz — it’s handier that way, even if the full version would be more conducive to me hitting my word count — throw a few early shapes but nothing to scare the horses, never mind to force Darren Randolph into a save.

By the 27th minute Jim Beglin feels sufficiently emboldened to announce that he “expected more from Bosnia”.

For all the passion of the atmosphere in Zenica the fare has been pretty low-key, George Hamilton agrees.

Miralem Pjanic has shown a couple of neat touches but nothing to suggest there’ll be Pjanic on the streets of Dublin, whatever about those of Dundee and Humberside, come Monday night.

It’s grisly stuff. Ireland’s inability to hang onto the ball has been well documented; BosHerz are not a lot better.

There’s a pair of them in it and it comes as a relief when the referee blows for half-time on the dot of 45 minutes.

Watching it on Aertel would have been easier on the eye.

Someone not a million miles away from the sports desk in this newspaper tweets to appeal for no “so far so good” nonsense in the studio. They clearly don’t have a Twitter feed in the studio. “So far so good?” Darragh Maloney proposes.

“So far so good,” chirps Richie.

“So far so good,” agrees Liam, who senses that a bit more enterprise could bring a big result. Eamon doesn’t toe the party line and he’s perfectly correct, pointing out that while the scoreline is “okay”, Ireland’s play when they have the ball has left a lot to be desired.

Yes, I seem to remember those seven seconds of possession alright.

Second half. Ahem: Remember a minute ago when I said about how watching on Aertel would have been easier on the eye..?

The fog descends and suddenly we can’t see a thing. A million TV viewers insert their own joke about how these are surely the optimum conditions for watching Ireland. The local TV director improvises with extended passages of play from the cameras behind the goals. Time ticks by.

The finishing line draws closer. Stalemate will be no bad result.

Then, almost in slow motion, Ireland score the most improbable of goals. It turns out to be Robbie Brady. It could have been Liam Brady for all that George and Jim know. Still, they rise to the occasion, ad-libbing heroically for Ireland.

“Out of the gloom the brightness shines!” George exclaims. Brady — Robbie, that is — has done Begovic on his near post, Jim informs us. A look at the replay proves him right. Give the pair of them a pay rise, RTÉ.

Although Dzeko, the big fogger, does manage to throw cold water on things a couple of minutes later, 1-1 is an infinitely better outcome than 0-0.

Back in studio Eamon is “really happy”, Liam hails a “tremendous result” and Richie enumerates our blessings. Home match to come, away goal scored, no suspensions, no new injuries, players to return.

Tús maith. More than half the work still to be done, but that’ll do for now.